


And Then?

by allskynostars



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: AU, F/M, One-Shot, Riverdale AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-11-28 06:07:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11411814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allskynostars/pseuds/allskynostars
Summary: Just a fluffy little one-shot in which Betty and Jughead only know each other from the bar that Betty frequents when she needs to get awayAnd boy does she need to get away tonight.





	And Then?

**Author's Note:**

> I think I'm just addicted to writing these two, honestly. 
> 
>  
> 
> **

Betty was sat at the bar of some dingy club in downtown LA that she frequented when she needed to get away. It was never _too_ full with the mingling, self loathing alcoholics that liked to waste their lives in this joint. Nobody ever looked for her here, and she hoped like hell they wouldn't tonight. Not after what had just gone down. 

"Well, well, well." Betty groaned inwardly at the voice from behind the bar. She really didn't want to have to worry about holding any kind of conversation right now. Especially not with the rather cute bar tender that she flirted with on occasion. "Got nowhere better to be on a Friday night, dollface?" 

"What's it to you?" She snapped at him and cut him a look, swinging her near empty glass in her fingers. He held his hands up in defence. 

"Woah now, it's not like I'm complaining." He smirked as her replaced her now empty glass with a full one. "Just surprised a girl like you doesn't have other plans on a Friday night." 

"A girl like me?" She questioned as she took him in. He was tall, and absolutely gorgeous. Not typically, not like the boy she had just walked out on, no, more old time classic. Even with the beanie that always adorned his head. He was all dark haired and blue, stormy, eyed. And he had this way of smirking that made her toes curl. His eyes were trained on her as he cleaned a glass with a rag that he threw over his shoulder. 

"You know, beautiful, blonde, fit as hell." His eyes fell down to her shoulders, bare from the black off-the-shoulder blouse she was wearing. He licked his lips. "Surely you got a man waiting for you somewhere?" Betty let out the laugh she had been biting back. 

"Shut up, Jughead. What's this, role play?" He frowned at her for a moment. 

"Party pooper." He poked his tongue at her. They had gotten to know each other pretty well in the last 6 months that Betty had been visiting. Little did he know, she wouldn't frequent as often if he wasn't behind the bar. She had become fond of him. She liked the way Jughead could hold a conversation, that they had similar interests. She loved the way he could make her laugh. There was no pressure to be perfect Betty Cooper, she could be whoever the hell she wanted to be with this guy. And although they had never actually had a conversation outside of this bar, or even seen each other for that matter, she considered him a friend. A friend she had thought about sleeping with more than once, truth be told. Which made the decision she had made earlier tonight even more solid. But Jughead knew all about her long-term boyfriend Archie Andrews. "So, he's not whisking you away to some fancy dinner party with the football WAGS tonight?" 

"Not tonight, or any other night for that matter." He raised an eyebrow in question, ordering her to go on. "He proposed, tonight. He proposed and I said no." She looked up at him when he didn't respond. 

"Heavy shit, Betts." He took her hand that was resting on the bar into his own. "Are you okay?" She just shrugged at him. 

"Yeah, actually." She let a deep breath she hadn't realised she was holding. "I feel relieved, actually. How fucked up that?" She let out a slight laugh as it dawned on her. 

"Hey," Jughead squeezed her hand that was still enclosed in his own. He caught her eyes with his own and gave her that smirk she enjoyed so much. "My shifts ending, you wanna split this joint?" 

** 

 

To Betty's surprise Jughead had a dark green jeep parked out the back, and even more to her surprise he wasn't empty handed when he came out from the back of the bar. He was still all in black, but he had chucked a denim jacket with a fleece collar over the top, and his beanie was still perched on his head. 

"A couple of roadies for the lady?" He handed Betty a couple of premixed vodka and lemonades that he had swiped from behind the bar. She gave him a look as if to ask if he was allowed to do that. He tapped his nose. "Perks of the job, sweetheart. And don't worry, none are for me." He opened the door for her to jump in the passenger seat. "Wouldn't want to risk damaging that pretty face." He winked at her. 

"No, that must be your money maker right?" She joked up as she climbed into the jeep. 

"Why do you think I get so many tips?" She could hear him laughing as he walked around the car to jump into the drivers seat. It was closing in on midnight now, and it dawned on Betty that she had no idea where they were going to go. Jughead turned to her in his seat. 

"Where to, madam?" 

"Surprise me, good sir." He though about it for a moment, and then his face lit up with an idea. 

They were driving for only half an hour before Betty became impatient to know where he was taking her. 

"Okay, where are we going?" 

"To the beach." He looked at her in his peripheral and smiled. "How'd you not realise by now?"

"I'm not a local, Jughead." She shrugged and took another swig from her can. "I get lost easy in this busy fucking city." 

"Still so much to learn. We're not far." And it was only another 10 minutes before they were there. "You have arrived at your destination, madam." 

"I do love the beach." Betty was in awe as she looked out at the ocean, it was endless. It made her feel free. She turned to Jughead with a sincere smile, one that made his breath hitch in his throat. "Thanks for bringing me here, Jug." 

"You haven't even gotten out of the car yet, woman. Come on." 

As Betty jumped down from her seat, she found her feet wobbling beneath her. She had probably had one too many drinks, but she wasn't in a mind to give a shit. Jughead came round from the other side with his hands in his pocket. 

"Shall we?" He nodded to the beach. And Betty, in this new found alcohol hazed confidence, linked her arm through his and headed toward the beach. "So, I have to admit, I do have an ulterior motive for bringing you here." 

"What a surprise." She said sarcastically. He laughed at her, nudging her side with his arm. 

"You can talk here, Betty. Nobody can hear you. Just me. Rant away." 

"This is the first time we've like, hung out, you know?" 

"I know" He smiled down at her. "And we're friends, right?" She nodded. "Sooo, talk?" And that's what they did. They walked together down the beach, and Betty, comfortable in Jugheads arm, and in her slightly tipsy state, spilled her guts. And Jughead just listened. 

"We were destined to be together, apparently, me and Archie. And I believed it for the longest time. Although childhood best friends turned high school sweethearts turned adult fuck ups? That wasn't exactly the plan." He watched her as she spoke, his eyes trained on the way her mouth wrapped around her words. "We grew up living next door to each other, and fell into those stereotypes. Me the perfect girl next door, him the handsome jock type. And I did love him, at some point honestly, I did. But somewhere between him fucking all those girls and me finding more excuses to avoid him, I realised I didn't anymore." 

"Jesus, he's an idiot." Jughead shook his head in disbelief. "He had you, and he was fucking other girls? Is he dumb _and_ blind?" Betty smiled at him.

"Thanks, Jug. But honestly I can't blame him. He had only ever known me _like that_ and I don't think he ever really wanted to be with me his whole life, I think he just felt obligated. Like it was supposed to be Betty and Archie Andrews, some kind of sick All American Dream. But I never want to be some house-wife, and he doesn't want that life either." 

"So why would he propose, then?" He asked her. Betty let out a sigh before continuing. 

"That is one thing I'm not really sure. His football career is really taking off, maybe he thinks it'll gain good press? Good for his image? I honestly don't know. All I do know is that he didn't propose because he wanted to marry me. I could see it in his face. We haven't even really been together in years. That's why I walked out. And why would I want that? When, well, if I ever get married, I want it to be because someone loves me. Not just for convenience, not just because 'that's how it should be.' I want to be someone's only choice, you know?" She looked up to Jughead then, his brow was set in concentration as he really listened to her. She felt her heart flutter at the decency of this boy. He had brought her here for this, so she could let it all out. That's more than anyone's done for her in a long time. "Sorry, that all just fell out." She laughed. 

"Don't be sorry, Betty. I'm just glad that you feel comfortable enough to speak to me about it all. Or to anyone, for that matter." She squeezed his arm that was laced with hers in appreciation, and he looked at her and smiled. 

"You're a real gentleman, Jughead." 

"That's me, Jughead Jones, all around good guy." He was being sarcastic. 

"Yeah well, this one won't finish last." Jughead wasn't sure, but he could have sworn she was flirting with him. He stole a glance at her, and she was smiling up at him. "Seriously, thank you." 

"Don't mention it, gorgeous. So what's next for you?" He asked. She thought about it for a moment. 

"Well, I gotta find somewhere to live." He nodded. 

"And then?" 

"And then I want a new job, I want to write about real things. Be a journalist. Not just writing columns in a magazine." She hadn't even realised she thought that until the words left her mouth. The beach really was bringing it all out of her, she thought. Or maybe it was Jughead. 

"Okay, and then?" She tugged on his arm and laughed. 

"That's enough about me, what about you Mr Jones? You gonna serve me drinks forever?" As she said it she realised how horrible it sounded. "Jesus, sorry, I didn't mean it like -"

"Betts, its fine." He laughed. "And to answer you, fuck no. I'm writing a novel, if you must know." She opened her eyes in surprise. 

"What about? Oh my god, can I read it?" Betty was excited to leant that he wrote too, somehow he'd never mentioned it before. There were lots of things she was releasing about Jughead tonight, he was more than a pretty face. 

"It's like a murder mystery kinda thing. And sure, you can proof read the latest on our next date?" He froze at his use of word and quickly looked to Betty's face to make sure he hadn't crossed the line. She just had a quiet smile on her face, looking out to the ocean. She pulled her arm free from his, and for a second Jughead was worried he had read her expression wrong, before he watched her take off for the sea. She looked so carefree as she ran, hair loose, arms out. He couldn't help being reminded just how beautiful she was, even more so than when she was sat behind the bar. Here she was open and carefree, and what he knew all along rung true. He really fucking liked her. "Betty!" He called as he took off after her, picking up her sandals she had discarded on her way. "Betty, what are you doing woman?" He could hear her laughing as he got closer. She had rolled up her black jeans and was knee deep in the ocean, twirling around. 

"I feel so free, Jughead. For the first time in maybe my whole life? And looking out at this ocean, it could take me anywhere." She stopped twirling then, and faced out towards the open water. 

"You can go anywhere you want, Betty Cooper. The world is yours. Take it." He called out to her. She turned to him and waved, urging him to join her. And she looked so at peace he thought "Fuck it" and took off his own shoes, piling them next to Betty. He didn't even bother rolling up his jeans. When he reached her she pulled him in for a hug, squeezing him tight. 

"Thank you, Juggie. This was exactly what I needed. It's so good to get it all out." She said in his ear. He could feel the goosebumps on his arm at his close she was to him. She pulled away and smiled the biggest grin he's ever seen. 

"Scream it out, if you want. Shed that skin." She looked at him for a moment, ticking it over in her mind whether she should. 

"ITS MY LIFE." She screamed in his face. He flinched a little in shock, and then just laughed. "Oops, sorry." She said a little quieter. He just shook his head. 

"No, don't be sorry. Keep going." 

"I MAKE MY OWN DECISIONS!" She screamed again. 

"THIS WATER IS FUCKING FREEZING!" Jughead screamed back, laughing. 

"I AM BETTY FUCKING COOPER AND I DO WHAT I WANT!" She was all smiles, her eyes glistening in the moonlight. Jughead wanted to reach out and touch her but she was in her element and he wanted nothing to stop that. 

"IT'S MY FUCKING LIFE!" She screamed again. 

"FUCK EVERYONE ELSE!" Jughead had to at least let something out. 

"WHAT ARE WE DOING RIGHT NOW?" Betty burst out laughing, bringing her hands to her mouth to muffle it. 

"YOU'RE LIVING" He screams back at her. 

"Almost" she whispers, in such contrast, before she grabs his face and pulls it to her own. She kissed Jughead long and hard, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. And he kissed her back just as hard, snaking his tongue into her mouth along with his arms around her waist. And when they both decided to come up for air, neither made a move to let go of on another. Jughead bumped his forehead against hers, both of their breathing was heavy. 

"I've been wondering what that feels like. Also, did you call me Juggie?" He teased. 

"Me too. And yes, I did, it's cute." 

"I like it." He kissed her again lightly. 

"So" She said, breathlessly. "What's next?" 

"We get out of this freezing ocean?"

"And then?"

Jughead just laughed, and hoped to god that whatever was next in his life involved Betty Cooper.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Honestly there's not much too it I just wanted to write something semi-light and different :)


End file.
